Suggest Treatment For Psoriasis

Posted on Wed, 25 Jun 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 25 Jun 2014 Answered on

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been diagnosed with psoriasis and wanted to know some easy treatment options. I have it mostly on my scalp.

Answered by Dr. Johny Chacko (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Scalp psoriasis treatment

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome to healthcare magic.

I understand from your query that you are looking for treatment options for psoriasis.

I see that you have got temporary results from olive oil and head and shoulders shampoo application.

You could try the following measures-

1. Apply warmed coconut oil / olive on all the patches 20 minutes before shampooing so that the scales before loose.

2. Apply 5 % Coal tar shampoo ( there is a shampoo named Psoriatrax shampoo available on XXXXXXX com) on the patches and leave it for another 10 minutes.
Wash it off after 10 minutes. If needed, you could use another shampoo of your choice for a 2 nd wash as some people do not like the smell of the tar shampoo.
Use the tar shampoo every alternate day.

3. You could apply a steroid cream containing 1 % Hydrocortisone on the patches after drying your scalp for 10-15 days. Hydrocortisone is very mild for psoriasis , however, this is available over the counter. Do not apply this after the scaly patches have subsided. Use it only if and when they reappear.

Psoriasis is a chronic problem with remissions and relapses.

You could keep it under remission by using tar shampoo and warm oil.

However, if it flares, you need to apply a steroid cream for the patches to subside.

Hope this helps you.

If you have any further queries, I would be glad to assist.

Regards,
Dr. Johny Chacko

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar